People in the Qin Dynasty, entertained during the Warring States period

I was in a hurry going downstairs today and forgot to cover myself.

Originally, her face was cold and somewhat icy, but with an unintentional smile, most of the coldness in her peach blossom eyes melted away, leaving them watery and affectionate, even when she was glaring, without any intimidation.

For someone like her who works in intelligence, this is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

“Cao Ze, do you really think Li Yuan would dare to target you at this time? For Li Yuan, waiting for the king to die and supporting his young nephew to ascend the throne is the most important thing, isn’t it?”

Hua Ying's smile faded, and her face turned cold again.

Cao Ze snapped back to reality in a daze.

The younger version of Huaying is truly uniquely beautiful.

Among the most beautiful women I've ever seen—

Purple Maiden is like a secluded orchid, giving people a mysterious and alluring feeling.

The Queen and Zhao Ji, on the other hand, excelled in their respective fields, like different varieties of poppies.

Huaying is exactly like a flower in full bloom.

She was delicate and tender, beautiful in a way that didn't make people feel ashamed of themselves, nor did it make people feel pity and want to protect her. Instead, she was so beautiful that it aroused wicked thoughts in people, making them want to hold her in their arms and play with her!

Cao Ze composed himself.

"When you're in a foreign country, you always have to be careful. Hmm, Master Huaying is a local bigwig, so it's easier for him to investigate things than for me. I just don't know if Master Huaying is willing."

Hua Ying had already covered her face with a veil again, which made Cao Ze feel a little regretful. He hadn't had enough of Hua Ying's alluring face yet.

I can't imagine how pleasurable it would be to pour water on such a stunningly beautiful face.

Hua Ying calmly said, "Sir, you are a friend of the farmers. Since you want to investigate, then we will give you a fair price."

"How many?"

"Five hundred gold coins."

Hua Ying lightly uttered a number.

Her original intention was to quote an exorbitant price to scare Cao Ze away, but to her surprise, Cao Ze readily agreed.

“Li Yuan is a powerful and influential official, so it is indeed difficult to investigate him. This price is very fair.”

Hua Ying almost swallowed her tongue.

Sir! That's five hundred taels of gold!

That's enough for her to tear down and rebuild the Drunken Dream Pavilion, rebuild and tear it down, tear it down and rebuild it again!

Hua Ying quickly composed herself, broke into a smile, and exuded a charming and coquettish air.

"make a deal."

She made up her mind that after completing this deal, she would immediately sell the Drunken Dream Pavilion at a low price, buy a more secluded place as her base, and from then on, she would never have anything to do with Cao Ze again, and neither of them would ever see the other.

Cao Ze smiled and said, "Deal."

He never even considered paying, and he would have agreed even if Hua Ying had quoted him a fortune.

He only wanted to use Hua Ying's hand to let her know at some point that Li Yuan wanted to kill Huang Xie.

Huang Xie, being on good terms with the Xiang clan, would certainly not sit idly by and await his fate; at the same time, he would also want to take the opportunity to eliminate Li Yuan.

He had just learned some inside information from the Qu family: Li Yuan and the Qu family had a close relationship and were probably having an affair.

Unless Huang Xie is chopped into mincemeat by Li Yuan's three hundred axemen on the spot, the capital of Chu will definitely be in chaos.

Hua Ying and Cao Ze left the elegant room and went downstairs one after the other.

Downstairs, Yingbu was drinking heartily, while Xiaoqing happily stuck out her little tongue and licked three candied hawthorns.

Only Ji Bu stood there, conflicted.

Hua Ying saw Xiao Qingruo licking three candied hawthorns in a row, and her pink eyes twitched slightly, extinguishing her desire to lick one with Xiao Qingruo.

"Ha, Brother Cao Ze, come on, let's keep drinking!"

With a "thump," Ying Bu placed a jar of wine on the table.

Hua Ying said coldly, "Qing Ruo, come upstairs with me!"

"Oh, oh..." Qingruo was worried that Huaying would take the food from her, so she quickly licked the candied hawthorn a few more times, which made Huaying almost roll her eyes.

How blind I must have been to take in this gluttonous, playful, and mischievous brat.

Hua Ying sighed helplessly when she thought of Qing Ruo's deceased parents' entrustment, realizing that she was truly destined to be a hard-working person.

Cao Ze and Ying Bu sat at the same table.

Ji Bu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his older sister hadn't been led astray by Cao Ze, and smiled as he drank a little wine with Cao Ze and Ying Bu.

Despite his handsome appearance, Ji Bu's drinking capacity, honed since childhood, is actually no less than Ying Bu's. Otherwise, Ying Bu wouldn't be dragging Ji Bu out for drinks every day.

"I have heard that the Queen's brother, Li Yuan, has recently been keeping retainers."

Cao Ze spoke with an air of seriousness.

Ji Bu paused slightly in his hand holding the wine bowl, but said nothing.

The general had asked him to keep an eye on this, but after investigating, he still didn't know what Li Yuan was doing gathering a group of desperados.

He could only speculate in his heart whether it was related to the throne.

Ying Bu had no reservations and said directly, "Hey, what kind of retainers are they? It's all over the place. They're all outlaws and death row inmates. This old guy is definitely up to no good."

Cao Ze feigned nonchalance and said, "Who knows? I also heard that Li Yuan wanted to kill the Prime Minister."

Ying Bu laughed loudly, "Impossible, Li Yuan was promoted by the Prime Minister, they are in cahoots."

Ji Bu's heart skipped a beat.

If he remembered correctly, the general had said that Li Yuan had repeatedly embarrassed Huang Xie in court.

Could the rumors Cao Ze heard be true?

……

Chapter 532 Delicious Candied Hawthorns

The wind howls, and the Yi River is cold.

Entering the cold winter, the Yan Kingdom is like a world of ice and snow.

"Giddy up! Giddy up! Giddy up!"

Along the banks of the Yi River, hundreds of knights galloped at breakneck speed.

If you look closely at the armor and clothing worn by these knights, you will find that they are all the elite of the Zhao state's elite troops—the Zhao border cavalry.

Yet this elite force of Zhao, without any fear, swept across Yan!

"Brother Qin! We're almost at Yandu!"

Jing Ke, with his hindquarters tucked under the horse, mingled among Zhao Bianqi's knights, and still managed to take a sip of the Lieyun Shao that Cao Ze had recommended to him.

As expected of the most famous strong liquor in Yan State, one sip in the dead of winter feels like being on fire.

"Hmm." Qin Wuyang said coldly, "Whether His Highness the Crown Prince succeeds or not depends on us!"

The capital of Yan was locked in a stalemate, and the King of Zhao mobilized his troops to tie down the border troops controlled by the King of Yan.

However, the Zhao state could not continue to send troops in winter indefinitely, as the logistical costs were simply too high!

If the situation in Yan remains deadlocked within half a month, Zhao will definitely abandon Prince Dan of Yan!

Going with the flow is fine, but forget about everything else.

……

The capital of Chu was Ying.

That night, Ji Bu secretly met with Xiang Yan, the current Grand Minister of Works, General, Pillar of State Commander, and head of the Xiang clan of the State of Chu!

"General, a secret report."

Ji Bu stood with his hands at his sides in the dimly lit tent, looking at the burly middle-aged man in the glow of the candlelight.

"What intelligence? Have those three parties made another move?"

Xiang Yan put down the letter and looked quietly at Ji Bu.

He had long recognized that Ji Bu was quick-witted and skilled in light-footed martial arts, making him extremely suitable for espionage and investigation. Therefore, after a secret test, he sent him to Qin to deliver a message to Lord Changping. At the same time, he promoted him greatly and had him keep an eye on underground activities in the Chu capital.

Ji Bu had excellent eyesight and was able to see the three characters "On the Six States" on the bamboo slip.

The general had always advocated for an alliance to destroy Qin, a fact known to everyone in the army.

"Today, I was drinking with my colleagues at a restaurant when we met Mr. Cao Ze..."

Ji Bu relayed Cao Ze's words, combined with the intelligence he possessed, in detail.

Xiang Yan glared coldly, "Li Yuan is truly audacious! He dares to do this for the throne!"

He didn't think Li Yuan wanted to kill Huang Xie; it was just unnecessary. After all, the king's youngest son had ascended the throne, and as the king's brother-in-law and a powerful minister favored by the king, Li Yuan had many ways to get rid of Huang Xie.

However, this made him somewhat suspicious.

Did the Queen learn something from the King? Does Li Yuan know the King's thoughts? Is she planning to strike first?

Indeed, the King of Chu had never considered the matter of his youngest son succeeding to the throne. The reason he had tacitly agreed to it was merely to lull the three families of Qu, Jing, and Zhao into a false sense of security within Chu.

For the State of Chu today, the best heir to the throne is none other than Lord Changping!

In particular, when the King of Chu and he learned of Zheng Guoqu's plan, they approved of Lord Changping.

They are all waiting for Lord Changping to return.

Ji Bu asked, "General, should we inform Lord Ling Yin?"

Xiang Yan waved her hand and said, "I will handle this matter. You may leave now."

"Yes!"

……

Night-blooming jasmine.